BPL has declared war on us - BDF XI

The beMOBILE Premier League championship leaders BDF XI have described the Botswana Premier League’s (BPL) decision to sentence them to a six point deduction and a P10 000 fine as outrageous, egotistic and vengeful.

The BPL announced their decision to punish the championship leaders through a press release on Tuesday. This means that BDF XI will end up in position four   behind Mochudi Centre Chiefs and ahead of Gaborone United in the hotly contested 2013/14 beMOBILE premier league.

BPL’s Disciplinary Committee (DC) said they found BDF XI guilty for contravening regulation 12.3 of the Botswana Football Association as well as Article 17.2.8 of the BFA Constitution and Article 68 Paragraph two of the FIFA statutes, which all bar the taking of football disputes to an ordinary Court of Law.

In an interview  with BG Sport, BDF XI Chairman Brigadier Boikanyo Addanes said they were yet to receive the full written judgement from the BPL DC. “We will study it and see how the judgement was reached,” he stated, adding they will consider their next move after this.

Addanes said the judgement and sentence did not come as a surprise to them, arguing that it (Judgement) was clouded by personal egos. “This shows that the BPL is run by people who are used to threatening others,” a seething Addanes said. The BDF XI chairman argued that FIFA laws are not cast in stone and   should be applied in a fair and frank manner. “The decision may be shocking to the nation and only shows that people had vested interests in the friendly game between Mochudi Centre Chiefs and Kaizer Chiefs (South African league champions),” he said.

Addanes said they were on a warpath with the league’s governing body. “We will fight to the bitter end, even if the premier league has to stop because someone has declared war,” he fumed. He did not spare members of the DC accusing them of being members of rival teams. At the end of the day this can happen to any   team. “They will continue to change our league schedule willy-nilly. They should be fair and frank in following FIFA rules and regulations. There is need for consultation,” he argued.

Addanes described his team as a cornered animal that will come out fighting furiously. He believes challenging the DC’S decision will help to push local football forward. “We have time on our side this time and we will see if we go to court or any other body.”

Speaking to BG Sport on the matter, Mochudi Centre Chiefs General Manager Morakanyane Sebele said he found the decision taken by the DC to be fair, and that actually the BDF XI were lucky to get away with a points’ deduction as they could have been suspended instead. Sebele said the decision was in the best interest of football by allowing BDF XI to go on playing. 

“We do not want to see teams suspended as we prefer fair competition. I know supporters from rival teams would have liked to see the team suspended but this would make football suffer,” he said. For his part Gaborone United Secretary General Hebert Letsebe said he could not comment on whether the decision was fair or not. However, Letsebe hoped that proper channels were followed when the judgement was reached on the matter. “If there was transparency and no personal feelings in the case, then the law should be allowed to take its cause,” he said. Local football analyst Jimmy George has a rather diplomatic stance in the matter.
He reacts with empathy to the decision taken by BDF XI leading to the current state of affairs. He is also of the opinion that the BPL was not too harsh in punishing the army side. “When BDF XI took the BPL to court I wondered what they were thinking,” he said, adding that FIFA was clear that football issues should not be brought before courts of law. “Maybe they thought they would pay a fine for their actions instead of a points deduction,” he argued. According to George, the BPL made a mistake bring in a friendly game at the expense of a league fixture.

“I can understand where BDF XI were coming from. They have principle and did not want the friendly game at their expense. They actually take the BPL seriously and they were punished for this,” he argued. George said he respected BDF XI for standing their ground on the issue. “They have won a moral victory. I have started to respect them even more,” he said.

The ruling by the BPL follows the controversial postponement of a November league fixture last year between BDF XI and Centre Chiefs to make way for a much-hyped friendly game between the latter and Kaizer Chiefs just days before the scheduled local league game.

An unperturbed BDF XI dragged the BPL on urgent notice to the Lobatse High Court which ruled in their favour, forcing Centre Chiefs to play the army side on a Sunday, less than 24 hours after they had played Kaizer Chiefs.

The BPL DC comprised Busang Manewe, Luckson Lokokoto and Batlang Serema with Tshiamo Rantao prosecuting. Meanwhile BDF XI who were leading the BPL log standing with 41 points, are scheduled to meet Township Rollers at the Molepolole Sports this Friday night.